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The Posthuman War Act 3: A New Dream

by Paul Shapera

/
1.
A New Dream 12:04
Jill: So hope begins to dawn, a brand era wakes and yawns The boys take Marjolein under their jaded wing The caravan comes to a close, on down the road, another show As they try to teach her strange and baffling things And the dream my friends, begins again Oh, the lights ascend upon the stage again Lloyd: You coax the narrative Marjolein: Is it alive? Raven: We ask ourselves that all the time Lloyd: Is the universe conscious, or a god, or time... Raven: We met Odin once Lloyd: Oh, he was nice Perhaps there’s minds above that we Cannot comprehend or conceive Raven: Is the universe a clockwork dance? Lloyd: Yes, is it-- Raven: With fire boiling in its pants Lloyd: What? Lloyd: Think of life as all a play Raven: Where plots don’t resolve and the playwrights insane Lloyd: Can we just? Raven: Sorry Marjolein: So I should act Lloyd: You need to be Raven: To be’s the task Lloyd: To seem is not to be Raven: Excuse me, cryptic much? Marjolein: Yeah, honestly Lloyd: I see. So, how do we express the trick? Raven: It’s like you can doctor up the script Raven, Lloyd & Marjolein: Let, let a new seed go, let a new dream grow Let a new era usher in Let all the sadness, be in the past let, love and a dream grow here again Jill: While our little crew attempt their task here someone new Is even now appearing on our sordid stage Sarah doesn’t know that she has flowered even though She has begun with powers new and strange to play And the dream my friends, begins again Oh, the lights ascend upon the stage again Sarah: You’re fabulous and fine and those eyes so super sweet There’s no chance a girl would have, not some poor old girl like me And you take, and you take, and you take my breath away How silly I must sound you must think me such a fool I’m a deer caught in your light, I’m so nervous truth be told And you take, and you take, and you take my breath away And nobody’s been kind since my parents died you see And that horse you’ve got right there oh my lord it’d be a dream If you gave, if you gave, if you gave it now to me And I know what you’ll do, what you wish you could want, what you want what you’ll choose And I know it’s no use, what you just wanna do, cause I know what you’ll choose You seem a bit dazed, let me take this horse here away You’ll be okay, walk away... oh, I got a horse! ...Yay! Marjolein: No offense but this is confusing Lloyd: We’ve never taught this before Raven: We have no idea what we’re doing Lloyd: Through trial and error we did it when we Raven: Lived the days of our lives Lloyd: We had love and a dream Raven: Artistry Lloyd: Subtlety Raven: Some flair Lloyd: But finesse It’s not about you Raven: It’s a little like sex Lloyd: A careful waltz with worlds just so Raven: It’s all about the manipulation of tropes Sarah: So dashing and so smart and so strong but oh so sweet There’s no chance a girl would have, not some poor old girl like me And you take and you take and you take my breath away I’m speechless next to you you must think me such a fool And my mom has fallen ill, she’s not doing very good And you take, and you take, and you t... hm, I see you’re resisting, alright let’s dial it up This apartment that you see it’s a thing I really need And your will is caving in so you’ll give it here to me And you’ll give, and you’ll give, and you’ll give it now to me And I know what you’ll do, what you wish you could want what you want what you’ll choose And I know its no use, what you just wanna do, cause I know what you’ll choose You seem dazed there my dear, take this pen and just sign right here You’ll be ok, walk away... woah, nice apartment... Yay! Lloyd: What is it you do after the dream has come and gone Raven: When the person that you were has packed their bags and moved along Lloyd & Raven: When family isn't something that you ever knew much of We've only got each other Lloyd: And I wonder Lloyd & Raven: Can love be enough Raven: Can love, can love, can love Lloyd & Raven: Can love be enough Can love Raven: Can love, can love Lloyd & Raven: Can love be enough Lloyd: I used to feel so innocent, but now I feel so cold An anger I can't recognize sometimes takes its hold Raven: I run in desperation from the person that I was The one who yearned and never lived and never knew of love Lloyd: Can love, can love, can love Lloyd & Raven: Can love be enough? Raven: Can love be enough? Lloyd: Can love, can love, can love Lloyd & Raven: Can love be enough? Lloyd: Perhaps the time will come for me to follow William's way Raven: Perhaps the past I'm running from will someday fade away Lloyd & Raven: It feels like we both stagger on a chasm dark and crude And the only thing that keeps me here from falling is you Can love be enough Raven: Can love, can love, can love Lloyd & Raven: Can love be enough? Raven: Come on everybody, we should go out for ice cream! Come on! Ice cream, we should get ice cream I know of a place a ways away, Lloyd: A ways? Raven: A quaint cafe Marjolein: I’m game Raven: Ice cream, this special ice cream Oh, it’s just delish Marjolein: In cone or dish Raven: Whatever you wish Lloyd: Well, if you insist Raven: Ice cream, we’re getting ice cream Marjolein: Well we’ve worked all day Lloyd: We could use a break Raven: So whattaya say Let’s be on our way! Sarah: Ice cream, I should get ice cream. That’d be pretty neat. Oh, and there’s that guy just down the street... .... Raven: So sir Tristan takes the sheep Lloyd: Oh this part is disgusting Raven: He takes out a knife the size of your head Lloyd: I told him I really don’t need to try raw haggis that badly Raven: Wait, what’s going on over there? Guy: Lady, I’m telling ya, I don’t give away free ice cream. Sarah: I see you’re resisting. Guy: Resisting? Resisting what? Sarah: Let’s dial it up Sarah: That ice cream there you see is a thing I really need And I know you wanna give it, wanna give it here to me And I know, and I know that you’ll give it here to me Guy: Lady what’re ya talking about I’m not giving you nothing Sarah: Oh your will is just a sin you can feel it caving in And it’s breaking, and it's breaking, and your will is giving in Guy: No it’s not! Sarah: And you'll give and you give and you’ll give it here to... how is this not working?! And I know what you’ll do, what you wish you could want, what you want what you’ll choose And I know its no use, what you just wanna do, cause I know what you’ll choose I know what you’ll do, what you wish you could want, what you want what you’ll choose And I know its no use, what you just wanna do, cause I know what you’ll choose Sarah: What’s that sound? Raven: The narrative's tearing! Sarah: What’s a narrative? Lloyd: Here quickly, I’ll pay her bill and we’ll be on our way Everything back in its place You can’t force a narrative Sarah: Who are you, what going on? Marjolein: Hi, I’m Marjolein Raven: We’re posties like you Lloyd: Do you know what you are? Sarah: So wait, you’ve got the power too? I thought it was just me Lloyd: We’re trying to build a place to teach people like you Sarah: So what can you teach? Raven: There are worlds beyond Marjolein: You can jump to them and play Lloyd: Join us, we‘d love to have you Sarah: This is the start of a brand new day
2.
Sarah 04:48
Jill: So the far-fetched dream of a new playhouse comes to be The boys take Sarah underneath their jaded wing Sarah: The celebration of liberation! Lloyd: Uh, the liberation of... Sarah: Being forced to scrounge and compete for the scraps of an unjust society like rats! Lloyd: Oh, yes, that is indeed a good thing Jill: It seems at last my friends they’ll have a family once again Who they can show and teach such strange and baffling things Sarah: Freedom from the domination of those at the top of hierarchal structures keeping us slaving at the bottom! Raven: Unconsensual domination. You can dominate me anytime you like, soldier boy Lloyd: Ravey! Jill: And the dream my friends, begins again Ah, the lights ascend upon the stage again Sarah: A little girl talk, a little girl time we Marjolein: A little girl talk sit and spill some tea Sarah: A little girl talk a little girl time we Marjolein: Confidences and confessions with words we weave Sarah: A little girl talk, a little girl time we Marjolein: A little girl talk sit and spill some tea Sarah: My mother lived in bed for she Was dying of some dread disease I watched her slip away for years In that ailing room of tears My dad, he cared for her each day Meds and wiping waste away The money that her family left Drained away as it got spent It’s sad how she drowned At the bottom of life, it ground her down and down The sad gaze on up To a life at the top that they will never touch Every night my dad said I Had girl scouts or some other lie And to the bar, we’d go and stay He’d drink and drink his nights away I grew up there in grown up land Amongst adults who could barely stand The only sober one I played Mind games with them in their drunken haze It’s sad how they drowned At the bottom of bottles, they would swig on down The sad gaze on up To a life at the top that they will never touch One night finally round three My mom was lucid, beckoned me Sarah dear, she told me, please My sweetheart, oh you must kill me She begged and begged till finally I took the pillow, set her free For an hour there I cried I’ve never shed tears since that night And I will not drown At the bottom of life, it will not grind me down The sad gazing up To a life at the top that they will never touch
3.
Raven: We should have a dinner party! Lloyd: A dinner party Sarah: Oh I love parties Raven: Call the old crew, celebrate our new playhouse. Welcome our new family Marjolein: You mean like parties with people? Raven: We can have a big dinner party chorus and everything Sarah: What’s he talking about? Lloyd: He’s being meta Raven: A little dinner celebration Friends and cocktails, food, libation Candlelight, hors d'oeuvres, and laughter too A little dinner celebration, Chatter, jokes, and some flirtation Some social stimulation might just do Invitations, friends, and conversation Laugh away frustration for a night Decorations, some intoxication, Social medication with your wine Lloyd: I’ll be in charge of the menu Raven: We’ll need candles Marjolein: I’ll do wine Raven: And several aquariums, and maybe some burlesque dancers-- oh no, mimes! Marjolein: For a dinner party? Raven: Of course, we’ve got to give it a few perks Marjolein: And the melted cheese volcano? Lloyd: Everybody off to work! … Raven, Lloyd, Marjolein & Sarah: A little dinner celebration A feast fit for a coronation The gang comes round to chat the whole night through Invitations, friends, and conversation Laugh away frustration for a night Decorations, some intoxication, Social medication with your wine Lloyd: So I found playing chess Was the only way to get My father to spend time with me I was lonely and sad So few comforts did I have I won tournaments and matches as a teen Later on in level 5 I would try to internalize The archetype of the strategist and more But it did things to me Made me cold made me angry And I can’t get back to who I was before Sarah: After mom died I feel That I stopped being quite real All my feelings are a show just like a clown I can’t tell where masks end And the real me might begin It’s just masks for me all the way on down So… what scares you the most? Lloyd: Oh, this meat monster I used to read about in one of my penny dreadfuls as a boy. Used to give me nightm- **Doorbell** Raven: Our first guest is here, it’s Isabela! Isabela: Raven, oh my dear, you look so scrumptious. Come on here Let me see you look great. Maybe you’re putting on some weight? Lloyd my darling man I miss our talks, you’re looking tan I always loved your stunning wit, Raven I loved you for your which Reminds me, voulez vous, I have a present here for you A gold chalice, its a skull, a viking lover from this fall We sacked Lemuria, and, oh my dears, how it was grand, But Lloyd, my darling man, put a martini in my hand I sailed on the seas of distant worlds I’ve rode through deserts made of gold Oceans and caverns were my bedroom But you, my friends, are comfort for my soul Marjolein oh my, you look delish, the honor’s mine, And Sarah dear, divine, what stunning fire in your eye I pop around here by and by, four months ago was the last time? Before that I was a mess, in a big hurry I had left This inquisition, oh what fun, there was a bishop and a nun And a pope, I all seduced, and the bishop’s mistress too Now I’ve come here from Sakund. A transmasc who is a khan He collects cities, oh the loot, but my darlings how are you? Scandals, my dears, it is my hobby I’ve ridden trolls out in the cold Crystal caverns were my bedroom But you, my friends, are comfort for my soul **Doorbell** Raven: Oh look, it’s Jill and Michael! Jill: Well boys you look great Michael: I hope we’re not here too late Jill & Michael: Oh you’re a sight for sore eyes I must say Jill: Here we’ve brought you some wine Michael: A little scotch oh the side Jill & Michael: Let’s get this evening’s events underway Jill, Michael & Raven: Coming with the love and the groove, we missed this, we missed you It’s good to be here together, alive A little evening with friends, all here together again A little laughter and chatter and wine Jill: So I told Michael there are other ways to pay a goblin queen Michael: It was a weird night all right, but not the worst I’ve ever seen Sarah: Lloyds always talking about how it’s a dance, it’s a subtle dance. Isabela: Lloyd’s an odd one, it's true, but you should give his advice a chance. His patience and delicate touch usually pay off. Sarah: But that’s the problem with his advice. The forces that hold you down, they never give up power without a fight. Raven: So the idea is to build an extra-dimensional carnival Michael: Oh, that’s great Marjolein: It’s insane, you should see the things that he collects Michael: I can’t wait Sarah: Oppressors can’t be reasoned with, power only understands force Isabela: But Sarah, we’re not talking about people. With nature, how are you going to go to war? Jill: He gets a lot of visions and I think he’s drinking a lot more Lloyd: Visions are tough to manage, so many intense emotions Jill: That’s for sure. They’re pretty sad, and especially his and there’s so many. I don’t know what to do. Lloyd: I'm not sure if any of us really know, but... but at least he has you. Sarah: There's the pit and there's the peak and it's up to you to decide on which one you wanna be. Marjolein: I just think it’s so cool you’re a witch, I didn’t know they could be that gorgeous Jill: Oh, aren’t you the kind one? Marjolein: Oh god! I didn’t mean, I… uh… oh god I’m so embarrassed! Isabela: I was thinking of heading out to one of the far strands for a bit Lloyd: That bump in your belly, is there anything you wanted to tell us? Isabela: Always the perceptive one. Promise me you won’t say a word to Raven Marjolein: They’re trying really hard, but it’s a hard thing to explain Jill: They adore you, and I can see why and if you ever need a break… I don’t know your tastes, but you can feel free to pop by my room? Marjolein: Your room? Jill: You know, at night… Marjolein: Why at night? Jill: Oh my god, you’re so bad at this. It’s adorable! Marjolein: Bad at wha... oh.... oh… ohh! Jill: No worries, just a little invite Michael: You seem to be holding it together though Raven: For the manicness keeping busy really helps Michael: And the depression? Raven: For some reason, proximity to Lloyd holds that off well Michael: It’s the Lovers archetype Raven: We stayed there too long Michael: Nothing to do but manage it from here Raven: Merrily we roll along Everyone: A little dinner celebration Friends and cocktails, food, libation Candlelight, hors d'oeuvres, and laughter too A little dinner celebration, Chatter, jokes, and some flirtation Some social stimulation just might do Invitations, friends, and conversation Laugh away frustration for a night Decorations, some intoxication, Social medication with your wine Sarah: Hey, we should make another show. You know, like Caravan, but... better
4.
Raven: Good night everyone, it was wonderful to see you all Isabela: We must do this again my darlings Lloyd: Be careful traveling so far out. The metaverse can be a dangerous place Isabela: I have Michael here to look out for me Michael: I’ll take good care of her, don’t worry Lloyd: We’ll talk about “you know what” later Raven: You’re welcome to stay with us as long as you like Jill: I just need a little base of operations for a few months. I’ll be coming and going Raven: We love to have you. It feels like home again. Jill: So the gang agrees to once again design, conceive Another show they hope will free post humans from their sleeping state A new dream has emerged and so inspired they get to work Their show “The River” will give birth to an era gold and great Raven, Lloyd, Marjolein, & Sarah: Let, let a new seed go, let a new dream grow Let a new era usher in Let all the sadness (let all the sadness) be in the past let Love and a dream grow here again Let, let a new seed go, let a new dream grow Let a new era usher in Let all the sadness (let all the sadness) be in the past let Love and a dream grow here again … Jill: They bond as they create, exchange ideas and innovate But underneath a darker weight begins to subtly emerge Soon convictions and debates will lead to dark and bitter days Alas the good days never stay, and soon the mood itself will turn Lloyd: The show’s designed with a river that winds Through their psyche, in fact, the eight circuits of mind They must break these deceits they perceive Concepts that they believe, views of reality Raven: The trek alas can be both wretched and sad A spiraling path where one believes that they’re mad You understand we must be the soft hand Through this laborious land, gently go as we can Sarah: The burden lies not to compromise, coddle and indulge those who will not rise It’s our fate here to liberate, to create a strong, great and higher race Raven: I’m not comfortable with Sarah: Sleep with me Raven: Wait, what, Sarah: You’re always game, let’s do it Raven: I don’t... I’m not comfortable with... not with playhouse family Sarah: You slept with Isabela and Lloyd Raven: But Isabela isn’t really... and Lloyd... Lloyd Sarah: So it’s just me Raven: No, I just... I’m not comfortable Sarah: All right, I get it Lloyd: Our players lead by Raven: Puppies Lloyd: Puppies? Raven: Puppies Lloyd: To the caves and the realm Of their subconscious selves A disconnect here we usually try But maybe beauty instead we can use here Sarah: Why? You yourselves said that trauma’s key All their lives are just shades and fantasies Raven: Trauma’s not some mirage, it’s real What’s not illusion is all of these things that you feel Sarah: Life in chains is suffering it’s already pain how can you not see We must use the most effective means, they will thank us when they are finally free Raven: How did you flower? Sarah: Well there was a... this… lt involved… It involved a... a poltergeist. I don’t wanna talk about it. I... I don’t wanna talk about it. Lloyd: Ravy, don’t be silly Raven: I’m not, there’s something off about her. It’s not just some of her ideas. Sometimes I get glimpses behind her mask, there’s some dark resentment brewing. Lloyd: Ravy, love and a dream, remember? Don’t ruin it. Jill: The months they pass on by, some are happy but despite Their intentions though they try, trouble brews beneath the waves The differences we see, in their two philosophies Become bitter till one day, tempers flair and finally break Sarah: The world is just a miserable place where dominators dominate We must free and liberate it is up to us to an army make New recruits you train and break, you mold as soldiers recreate It’s not a dance, some give and take, power doesn’t give so you must take Flowering just shows you that you’re a puppet still licking boots and cracks Narratives hold you in their grasp, just another boss, just another laugh If we really want to liberate, be on top, it’s an army we must make I couldn’t even get a simple ice cream, but our army will conquer all reality
5.
Pillow Talk 02:44
Jill: Pillow talk at 1 am Fingers holding close Marjolein: Intimate admissions With eye contact and no clothes Jill: I worry now for everyone For Asha and the gang I fill my time with futile tasks To keep away the pain Marjolein: I try to learn and to become But think I’m just a fake I worry I will never be Worth the time they take Sarah, she’s so competent So sure and then there’s me Bumbling through everything I seem but never be Jill: Pillow talk at 1 am Marjolein: Fingers holding close Jill: Intimate admissions Marjolein: With eye contact and no clothes Jill: Marjolein you’re wonderful You’re more than what you think In time you’ll gain the confidence I wish that I could give I feel I’m manic pixie dream girl Wandering through life Gaze at shiny objects To distract my frightened mind I bring the fun but never bond I’m lonely, sometimes cry The playhouse gangs the only ones I feel are ever mine Marjolein: I’m lonely too, for being trans The place I was brought up Was difficult, and here’s The only chance for home I’ve got Jill: Pillow talk at 1 am Fingers holding close Marjolein: Intimate admissions With eye contact and no clothes Lloyd: Is our new dream stumbling And I can just not see It seemed like we had joy Another love another dream The coldness and the anger For a minute disappeared It seemed we could recapture What we lost back then to tears Raven: I keep the manicness at bay I keep my sanity I hold to you so tight Maybe I feel you cannot breath Paradise was lost And our hearts broken but you know We can’t ignore the darkness That is building even so Jill: You know I saw Sarah in this nearby strand. Coming out of this theatre in the dead of night. Marjolein: Maybe she went to see a show? Jill: No. It was like she was rehearsing. Something very demanding, she looked really, what’s the word, expended? Like she’d been sweating something fierce. Marjolein: I wanted to try to talk to her privately, try to ease the tension that’s been building. Away from all this. If you can tell me where, I’ll go there and try to talk to her. Somewhere Lloyd and Raven aren’t around. Maybe calm things down. Jill: Good idea.
6.
Blue River 03:24
Jill: So Marjolein decides to surprise Sarah and to try To talk to her and pacify the growing strain The next evening then she heads to the dark theater Jill had said Where some performance is just getting underway And the dream my friends, expires again Oh the light descends upon the stage again Marjolein: Sarah? Hey, it’s me. Wow, what’s going on here? Sarah: Marjolein! What are you doing here? Marjolein: I thought to come, maybe have a chat Stop the tension that is growing that I think is hurting us I thought that you Maybe just need someone to listen to you I thought that if we maybe talk it out We could heal the rift and calm the whole thing down I still love you and want to be your friend Be a crew, a family again Sarah (trying to think fast): Huh… Hmm.... Tsk… Ok… Uhm... ok... I’ve thought and changed my mind I think Lloyd was probably right And I’m trying now to build Build you all a big surprise And I need, and I need, and I need you to help me You startled me but hey I’m real glad you went and came I need someone here who knows And I respect you Marjolein And I need, and I need, and I need you to help me I need you please to try To see the show from the inside It’s so gentle how I tried To make the journey really kind And I need, and I need, and I need you to help me And you know what to do The only one that I know, who has done this is you If you don’t like it shout A safeword and then I will stop and let you on out The safeword we’ll say is yellow. Is that ok? Say it and I will stop and call it a day I really appreciate this, Marjolein. I’m so nervous showing this to Lloyd and Raven, but it’s really benign and gentle. This version is called Blue River. I really think you’ll like it. Ok, ready? The cast is all in place. Ok, ready, set... Go.

credits

released March 22, 2022

Featuring
Lux Mortenson as Sarah
Maggie Kozak as Marjolein
Nora Sonneborn as Jill
Bradley Johnson as Michael
and Kiera Marie-Somers as Isabela

Cover by Pixelwayve

Lyrics Proofread and Formatted by Jenna Soul

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Paul Shapera Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Cama’s attempt to commune with higher beings failed; she only found Decadent Dottie. Together they roamed, indulging in dangerous forms of psycho-neural self-exploration which Cama hoped would present the key to her people’s further evolution. It only led to her destroying her people so that one of their pets could evolve. She sat in her former civilization's rubble and listened to Paul Shapera. ... more

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